Improvement in wooden packing- for piston-rods and other enginery



ludwig/Inter stmjmi dem ser

CHARLES N. PETERSEN,

I Letters Patent No. 86,316, elated January 26, ISGSL"M OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MPRQVEMENT IN WOODEN'PACKING- FOR PISTON-RODS AND OTHER ENGINERY.

The Schedule referred to in these Letta-e Patent and making part of the same.

Figure l represents an elevation of steanzi-cylinder,r

packing, and piston-rod.

Figure 2- represents the piston-rod, showing the three sections of the packing detached. y

Figure reprcsents the concave end of one of the terminal pieces of the packing.

Figure L represents the plane end of one ofthe terminal pieces of the packing.

The middle piece of the said'packing is a double cone, the ends of which are received into the concave ends of the terminal pieces D and B.

In the accompanying drawings- Let A A represent a steam-cylinder, or a stuhngbox of a piston-rod, standing on its base, receiving the piston-rod -E E, and'the packing D C B, in three sections, through which the piston-rod passes.

The nature of the invention consists in the use of a prepared material for packing piston-rods, valve-stems,-

or their equivalents, in steam-engines.

That others skilled in the arts may make and use my invention,I proceed to describe it as follows:

Having selected suitable timber' for the packing, the fibre of which has a certain degree of roughness, it is turned in a lathe, and made to fit exactly the bore of the stuffing-box, (or cylinder, as the case may bc,) and bored to receive the piston-rod. It is divided into three sections, B, C, and D, iig. l.

B and D are of the same form. -The outer, ends are a plane face, at right angles with the axis of the cylinder, ng. 4.

The inner ends are conical and concave, as seen in the concave end, fig. 3, to receive the two ends oi' the middleI section, G, and these three pieces constitute the packing.

The packing is bored to fit very accurate to the piston-rod, or'its equivalent, and both are pushed into the stutlng-bpx, or its equivalent, where it is held in place by the cap b l), screw-bolts a a, and nuts c c, and the piston-rod E plays through the packing easily when dry, but steam-tight when iiiled with steam.

The wood packing is specially adapted to piston-rods and valve-stems, and other parts oi' similar construction.

It may be also applied to the pistons, and to sliderods andcouplings, where motion is required. as counected with air or gas-pressure.

The preparation of the wood in substance, in the early part of my experiments, was made by boiling the timber in water, which acted to swell the parts without removing the incrusting-matter that iills its pores in the natural state, and did not impart the property of elasticity, se' necessary to a good packing. p

The next resort was to an iron cylinder, in which the packing-pieces were closely packed, and steam blown through for several hours consecutively.

,This plan of treatment, though an improvement on the original, was found to be defective, from the uneven action of the steam. The outer portions of the wood were fully softened, elastic, and spongy, and the internal portions softened to some extent, but mostly confined to the surface. The incrusting vegetable matter was softened, but not removed.

Thirdly, the wood packing being fitted exactly to the parts of the stuffing-box where it was to be used, and the cap and bolts being loosened, steam islet n, and passed through the stuffing-box and packings, for two hours, or longer, when the packings being removed, are found to be uniformly acted on by the steam, which will have completely opened its pores, and dissolved the incrusting-ma-tter of the wood, and made it porous, spongy, and elastic, and adapted it to the very mould where it is to be used.

Such is the preparation of the wood packing, in substance, for piston-rods and their equivalent, in steamengines, which has occupied the mind ofthe inventor for many years.

The construction of the inner en ds of B and D, to receive the double cone-piece G, (which three pieces are pressed together ou their ends,) constitutes a tight packing, which requireslittle attention, and can scarcely get out of place, and will last from eighteen months to two years.

llhe working of this packing forms a glaze on the surface of the wood, being a mixture of the lubricatingoil used and the incrusting-matter of the wood, embedded into its porous surface, and this embeddingglaze saves a large amount of lubricating-oil, required in other packings, and causes the.wood packing to be more durable than any other in existence.

It has been used eleven months, daily, without repairs, and continued to run as well as at first.

From experience, it is believed that it would last eighteen to twenty-four months, `in a one hundred and twenty horse-engine, in which case the packing may be shortened one-tenth its length.

The elastic character of this packing renders clamping the piston-rod, so essential in keeping the packing in place in other kinds of packings, scarcely ever necessary in mine.

The cost of this packing, in a one hundred and' twenty horse-engine, is about three dollars, while the cost of packing with hemp, metal, or soapstone, is twenty-three dollars, and must be renewed three times while the wood is renewed once.

The blocks constituting the three sections ofthe wood packing, that they may be removed Without dis- 'curbing the machinery, are cut longitudinally and radially through the plane of the cylinder, .into ten pieces, and each piece may be removed separately, and replaced, Without otherwise disturbing the machinery.

This' packing may be used with or without the 'sections. f f

The advantages of' this packing over others in use,

First. That it costs three dollars for a one hundred and twenty horse-engine, while the others 'oost about twenty-three dollars.'

Second. This packing will last twelve to twenty-four months, While that of heinp, metal, or soapstone, will last about one-third as long'.

than that of other packings, from the fact that the absoi'ptive' surface of the Wood takes up and holds the lubricating-@hor this, mingling with the inc-rustingrnatter of the wood, forms a glaze on the surface, which is lasting, and requires less than half the amount of lubricating-oil used with other packings.

What I claim` as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The construction and arrangement of the wooden packing for piston-rods and other enginery, substantially upon the principle and in the manner herein set forth.

Witnesses: CHARLES N. PETERSEN.

P. A. HQYNE, M. D. RAPP. 

